Glands make and release hormones.
Hormones are chemicals that stimulate other cells or tissues into action. Because hormones are in your blood, they travel throughout your body. They can affect many organs at the same time.
You have 2 adrenal glands, 1 above each kidney. The adrenal glands release several different hormones that help control your blood pressure, heart rate, balance of water and salt, response to stress, and some male-type sex features.
What is Cushing syndrome?
In Cushing syndrome, you have too much of the adrenal hormone called cortisol.
Cushing syndrome is usually caused by your adrenal glands making too much cortisol
People with Cushing syndrome often have a very round face, hair loss, depression, and thin skin that bruises easily
Treatment for Cushing syndrome depends on what's causing it—you may need surgery or radiation
What causes Cushing syndrome?
Cushing syndrome is usually due to:
Your adrenal glands making too much cortisol
Your adrenal glands may make too much cortisol if you have:
A tumor in your adrenal glands that releases cortisol
Cancer elsewhere in your body (such as lung cancer) that releases a hormone that triggers the adrenals to make cortisol
What is Cushing disease?
Cushing disease is a little different from Cushing syndrome. In Cushing disease, an overactive pituitary gland tells your adrenals glands to make too many hormones.
Cushing disease usually happens when there is a tumor on your pituitary gland. Doctors remove the tumor with surgery or destroy it with radiation.
What are the symptoms of Cushing syndrome?
Symptoms include:
Large amounts of belly fat and fat at the top of your back (called a "buffalo hump")
Round, swollen face
Thin skin that bruises easily and heals slowly
Purple streaks that look like stretch marks on your chest and belly
Getting tired easily
Sometimes, extra face and body hair
In females, sometimes hair loss
Children with Cushing syndrome grow slowly and stay short.
Over time, if your Cushing syndrome is untreated, you may have:
Increased chance of getting infections
How do doctors tell if I have Cushing syndrome?
Doctors will do:
Urine and blood tests to measure your cortisol levels at different times of the day, and sometimes before and after taking special medicine
Blood tests to measure pituitary hormones
Sometimes, CT (computed tomography) scan or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to check for tumors in the body
How do doctors treat Cushing syndrome?
Doctors will:
Have you eat a diet high in protein and potassium
Sometimes give you medicines to lower cortisol levels, raise your potassium level, or lower your blood sugar level
Do surgery or radiation to get rid of any tumors
